Pancakes Lab802 recipes
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What the words in pancake titles mean

545 English pancake recipes. For every word used in at least 10 of their titles, the recipes that use it against the rest, on every ingredient, in grams per 100 g of flour. 7 words go with a clear difference; 14 others change nothing measurable.

This is what recipe writers do when they pick a word, not proof that an ingredient makes the texture: the numbers show what recipes with the word have in common, and a recipe can earn its word through the method, the pan or the oven instead.

Recipes called “fluffy” (62), “best” (26), “easy” (19) or “homemade” (17) use about the same amounts as the rest on every ingredient measured here, within what chance would explain.

Ingredients, flavors and styles

Words that name something in the recipe or the kind it is. Some differences here are what the word says outright; they show the numbers can be trusted where the answer is known.

“vegan”

16 recipes vs 529

Recipes with “vegan” in the title: most use no egg (100% vs 5%); less salt (0.4% vs 1.2%).

“vegan” (16)the rest (529)middle half of all

  • Egg · share using anyrecipes with vegan in the title 0% vs the rest 94%

  • Saltrecipes with vegan in the title 0.4% vs the rest 1.2%

For example: Vegan Shredded Pancake aka. Kaiserschmarrn with Cherry Compote (baketotheroots.de) · Vegan Pumpkin Pancakes (loveandlemons.com)

“eggless”

11 recipes vs 534

Recipes with “eggless” in the title: most use no egg (100% vs 5%).

“eggless” (11)the rest (534)middle half of all

  • Egg · share using anyrecipes with eggless in the title 0% vs the rest 94%

For example: Eggless Pancakes Recipe (spiceupthecurry.com) · Eggless Pancakes (cookwithmanali.com)

“ricotta”

17 recipes vs 528

Recipes with “ricotta” in the title: most use no fat (64% vs 18%); more liquid (214% vs 171%); more egg (53% vs 40%).

“ricotta” (17)the rest (528)middle half of all

  • Fat · share using anyrecipes with ricotta in the title 35% vs the rest 81%

  • Liquidrecipes with ricotta in the title 214% vs the rest 171%

  • Eggrecipes with ricotta in the title 53% vs the rest 40%

For example: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (thereciperebel.com) · Light & Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes (savingdessert.com)

“sourdough”

21 recipes vs 524

Recipes with “sourdough” in the title: less liquid (144% vs 172%); more fat (23% vs 18%); more salt (1.9% vs 1.2%).

“sourdough” (21)the rest (524)middle half of all

  • Liquidrecipes with sourdough in the title 144% vs the rest 172%

  • Fatrecipes with sourdough in the title 23% vs the rest 18%

  • Saltrecipes with sourdough in the title 1.9% vs the rest 1.2%

For example: Sourdough Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (littlespoonfarm.com) · Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (preppykitchen.com)

“banana”

51 recipes vs 494

Recipes with “banana” in the title: less liquid (147% vs 174%).

“banana” (51)the rest (494)middle half of all

  • Liquidrecipes with banana in the title 147% vs the rest 174%

For example: Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (crazyforcrust.com) · Healthy Banana Pancakes (sallysbakingaddiction.com)

“pumpkin”

52 recipes vs 493

Recipes with “pumpkin” in the title: more sugar (21% vs 16%).

“pumpkin” (52)the rest (493)middle half of all

  • Sugarrecipes with pumpkin in the title 21% vs the rest 16%

For example: Pumpkin Pancakes (yellowblissroad.com) · Pumpkin Pancakes (twopeasandtheirpod.com)

Words that change nothing measurable

Recipes with these words in the title use about the same amounts as the rest on every ingredient, within what chance would explain. The number is how many titles use the word.

  • fluffy 62
  • best 26
  • easy 19
  • homemade 17
  • perfect 12
  • buttermilk 60
  • blueberry 51
  • pancake 42
  • chocolate chip 29
  • lemon 27
  • whole wheat 20
  • chocolate 17
  • apple 13
  • strawberry 11

How the words are tested

Titles are split into words, with two-word names kept whole ("small batch", "cream cheese", "brown butter") and spellings folded together ("crisp" and "crispy"). The dish's own name, words like "the" and "recipe", and any word in half the titles or more are left out. A word needs at least 10 recipes, and there must be 10 without it. English titles only, so a word cannot stand in for a language.

A difference is shown when the medians sit at least a third of the middle half of all these recipes apart (about half a standard deviation, a medium effect) and a rank test puts it at 3 standard errors or more. For an ingredient many recipes skip, the share using none counts too: 25 points apart at the same 3 standard errors. With dozens of words and every ingredient tested, about one chance difference in 370 comparisons would pass, so a lab may show one that is luck; a finding that repeats across labs is unlikely to be.

Shares are rounded down. Each card links two recipes that use the word, nearest its own medians.